I’d like to present Exhibit A: The Mars Volta’s new album Octahedron. Dubbed an acoustic/pop project by Omar Rodríguez-López, the eight track follow up to The Bedlam in Goliath doesn’t exactly play true to the artist’s intention. There is a plainness here that’s enough to make the De-Loused apologist shift in their seat. At points it feels like an anti-pop album more than a sincere attempt at a pop album. An anti album-album you say?
Take the very beginning: a barely audible drone reminiscent of some cheap Pink Floyd effect. Inwardly I chuckle and then rub my hands together in anticipation of one of those signature crescendos. But the uncomfortably low drone goes on until 1:36. One minute and thirty six seconds I’m sitting there: Aaaaaaand now! Aaaaannndd now! Aaaannnddd…now? Finally Cedric Bixler-Zavala comes in over Rodríguez-López on the acoustic and I’m somewhat placated. And then it hits me. The chorus for “Since We’ve Been Wrong” is the blandest I’ve ever witnessed on a Mars Volta album. But the drums haven’t come in yet. Surely drummer Thomas Pridgen will slam in with some machine gun entrance fill. Nope! But wait, let’s make it worse and arrange some cheesy ass electric ballad guitar behind the chorus. That’ll really make the listener cringe!
“Teflon” is a decent groove if not for the entrance of a guitar effect that strangely mimics the sound of Super Mario jumping. Then there’s the matter of the chorus: “What am I without the bruises?” Jesus…I didn’t know Fallout Boy was guess starring on this album. A recurring image (wheels burning) surfaces from “Day of the Baphomets” on Amputechture, and this happens a few more times throughout the rest of the album. Is Bixler- Zavala recycling images on Octahedron? Are they dulled down for “popular” appeal? The images are still quite dark and twisted, but nowhere near as visceral as previous albums. This can’t just be an album of B -sides though, can it?
“Halo of Nembutals” picks up where “Teflon” left off, plain and decent, things picking up a little. And then we arrive at “With Twilight as My Guide,” one of the few tracks that fit in with the motif of a pop acoustic album. It’s well arranged, not over produced and Cedric hits the high notes - almost reminiscent of “Televators,” though I shy from making such inevitable comparisons. But the next track, “Cotopaxi,” is the real nexus of the album, coming out of nowhere like a fucking raging meteor on a trajectory for the Yucatan. This is the bar and it’s made plain to see. It doesn’t even feel like it belongs on the album. So why the hell did they release “Cotopaxi,” the best song on the album, overseas, and “Since We’ve Been Wrong,” the worst song, in the States? Is “SWBW” an apocalyptic commentary or an ironic jab at their ineptitude to create?
“Desperate Graves” courses along the vein of “Halo of Nembutals,” only to fall into the useless gulch that is “Copernicus.” Midway through “Copernicus” it sounds like Rodriguez-Lopez fiddles with some knobs and then requests a piano solo because he has an inexplicable desire for ivory. Recovering from “Copernicus” is “Luciforms,” the last of the redemptive qualities on this album. Here, a morose bass trudges below a smacked cymbal/snare that builds into a frantic release of Rodríguez-López on the electric. When the real Volta rear their head, they elevate far above any of the other more mundane “pop” moments. To their credit, they are more restrained on Octahedron, though it could have been possible to find some middle ground between the plainness of this album and the verve of their previous work. If their chief goal is to evolve every album, Octahedron went in a reverse vector brimming with frustration and bitterness toward the creation process. There are some fans that have been waiting for another De-Loused, but it ain’t coming. We’re just going to have to wait and see what evolves.
-Seth Fraser
On the sophomore effort of Black Mountain's Amber Webber and Joshua Wells (collectively Lightning Dust), haunting vocals are placed in contrast to a musical accompaniment that manages to offer the hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. The mixture creates a sound that echoes the feelings of wandering through a dream world, caught in between the battle to drift endlessly along or break free and wake up.
The album has a retro sound, with the scratchy noises that are reminiscent of vital recordings, and vocals that sound as if they were made in a vacuum. On the song "Wondering What Everyone Knows," the lingering vocals mixed with soft guitar lines and syncopated drum beats make for a jarring experience that lends itself to closing one’s eyes and losing themselves listening.
Sometimes, the feeling of drifting creates songs that blend together and are more like long-form works, and less of individual songs. On the final track "Take It Home," the vocals once again pull you in with their poignant sound and sad musical background. Once the album finishes the dream is over, and you are left wondering if you want to fall back to sleep if only to re-discover the sound once more.
-Jenna Browning
If Interpol and The Killers had a love child who had developed a man-crush on Joy Division, War Tapes would be it. The Los Angeles based “heart quaking doom-pop” band’s debut album, The Continental Divide, is an ode to dreamy, power driven rock-pop music that manages to avoid sounding like it was developed in a factory.
At first glance, War Tapes appears as nothing more than another crew of trendy L.A. punk-rockers, with new wave hair cuts, chiseled jaw lines and black eyeliner. Upon listening to lead singer and rhythm guitarist Neil Popkin’s deep vocals, however, it’s immediately apparent that there’s more to the band than appearance.
The Continental Divide opens with “The Night Unfolds,” a strong lead-in track with a fast, pump up rhythm from drummer William Mohler that possesses a Strokes-like quality. Becca Popkin, Neil’s sister and War Tapes’ bassist, provides a feminine, atmospheric touch to Neil’s dark, masculine voice and Matt Bennett’s heavy guitar riffs.
“Mind is Ugly” is another stand out track that experiments with Neil’s raw vocals and gloomy lyrics. “Everything’s my fault/Everything at all/Tonight I’m giving up/Tonight I’m losing control.” But the band’s matured and well-placed hints of shoegaze and new wave sound keep The Continental Divide from sounding too controlled, contrived, or emo for that matter.
The band shows its highest potential in “Dreaming of You,” a melodic-filled monster that is very tempting to listen to over and over again. Here Becca’s feminine influence and soft chanting breaks the brooding and shows off the bands’ versatility.
The Continental Divide won’t make War Tapes the breakout L.A. band of the year, but it won’t pass them off as another mature attempt that fell short either. There’s a spark in their melancholy sound that has yet to become a flame.
-Matt Anderson
British singer/songwriter Eugene McGuiness finally dropped his self-titled album in the US, with a sound which is anything but what you’d expect. The album has a big band feel to it, McGuiness says he recorded the album in a room with friends to get an “organic bandy feel.”
He certainly succeeded; the album is vintage sounding, full of catchy beats and witty lyrics that will leave you searching for deeper meaning, whether or not it’s actually there. Despite his relatively young age (23), McGuiness comes across as with a mature smooth voice that slips into falsetto on tracks such as “Those Old Black and White Movies Were True” and “God in Space.” His penchant for odd lyrics are showcased in songs like “Moscow State Circus” where he sings “test results are inconclusive as to whether your world is round, mine is a rubicks cube so pass it on and go and figure it out.”
The album starts strong with “Rings Around Rosa”, a fast paced drum heavy love song in which he proclaims “your little sister’s very pretty and your dad works at the city and it’s not the first time a boy like me has wrote those words.” “Wendy Wonders,” the second track on the album slows down to give a 50’s rockabilly vibe that exposes McGuinness’s talent as a noteworthy vocalist with plenty of range.
There’s an aged sound to this album that gives one the feeling of a child dressed in his father’s suit, but McGuinness pulls it off perfectly. The blend of youthful, naively formal lyrics and a likeable, retro sound and diverse instrumentation including tambourines, string instruments, and some use of light harmony make this record an interesting and worthwhile listen.
McGuinness says he doesn’t want his album to be a slick product but to sound like it’s constantly on the cusp of fucking up. “I don’t know if they’re great or they’re unusual or a complete rip off of other songs but I’m certain they’re a bang on reflection of what I am,” McGuinness said.
-Trisha Bruynell
Regina Spektor has done it again with another grade-A meat of an album. Far, Spektor’s fifth release, brings a grand array of piano melodies, quirky sound effects and an eclectic, rubbery vocal range that falls no shorter than a classic, mismatched Regina.
Ballads like “Man of a Thousand Faces” and “Genius Next Door” showcase Spektor’s ability to wrap her vocals and piano skill into a tightrope that not many musicians today could even think of balancing on.
With help from producers like Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple) and ELO founder Jeff Lynne, Spektor was able to create another fizzy pop album with just as much stretch and flow.
Even within tracks themselves Spektor juxtaposes words and their contexts to create irony. “Laughing With” is a perfect example, with Spektor creating a religious commentary on both the humor and the seriousness relating to God. “God can be so hilarious/Ha Ha/No one laughs at God in a hospital/No one laughs at God in a war/No one’s laughing at God when they’ve lost all they got and they don’t know what for.”
Spektor really pushes Far to the next level, however, with bouncy, animated tracks like “The Calculation,” “Folding Chair” and “Dance Anthem of the ’80s.” Spektor has succeeded once again in her ability to make such light, witty pieces become strong tracks that stick as worthwhile, meaningful listening experiences with the listener—something she has made her past work famous for.
From ticking clocks in “Machine” to dolphin impersonations in “Folding Chair,” Spektor’s Far brings us yet another collection of artistic experimentation and expression that only Spektor could be accounted for.
-Matthew Anderson
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